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Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
CGTN: President Xi Jinping calls on China, EU to provide more stability, certainty for world
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with European Union leaders during their visit to Beijing for the 25th China-EU Summit on Thursday. CGTN published an article exploring China-EU relations in two-way trade and investment, emphasizing the need for both sides to embrace multilateralism, openness and cooperation to bring greater stability and certainty to the world. BEIJING, July 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fifty years ago, China-Europe trade was a trickle. Now, as the two sides mark half a century of ties, a single day's trade equals what they exchanged in the entire year when relations were first established. Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and the European Union, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China-EU relations have come to another critical juncture in history. There are no fundamental conflicts of interest or geopolitical contradictions between China and the EU, Xi told European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. "The current challenges facing the EU do not come from China," he said, adding that the fundamentals and prevailing trend of China-EU relations featuring cooperation over competition and consensus over differences have remained constant. Xi put forward three proposals for the future of China-EU relations: both sides should uphold mutual respect and consolidate the positioning of their relations as partnership, embrace openness and cooperation while properly managing differences and frictions, and practice multilateralism and uphold international rules and order. Trade and investment At Thursday's meeting, the Chinese president said the China-EU economic and trade relationship is by nature complementary and mutually beneficial and can indeed achieve dynamic equilibrium through development. China's high-quality development and opening up will provide new opportunities and potentials for China-EU cooperation, Xi noted, calling on both sides to strengthen green and digital partnership and boost mutual investment and cooperation. In 2024, trade between China and the EU soared to $785.8 billion, an increase of over 300 times compared to when diplomatic relations began in 1975, according to China's customs authorities. Two-way investment flows have also shown sustained growth in recent years, indicating a positive trend. Chinese battery manufacturer CALB, for instance, is building a $2.2-billion plant in Sines, Portugal, expected to create 1,800 jobs. Xi expressed hope that the EU can remain open in the trade and investment market, refrain from using restrictive economic and trade tools, and foster a sound business environment for Chinese enterprises investing and operating in the EU. At the 25th China-EU summit on Thursday, both sides agreed to forge an "upgraded version" of the China-EU export control dialogue mechanism, have timely communication on each other's concerns and jointly keep the industrial and supply chains between China and Europe stable and unimpeded. Multilateralism Xi said China has always viewed and developed China-EU relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, regarded the EU as an important pole in a multipolar world and consistently supported European integration and the strategic autonomy of the EU. China-EU relations are not targeted at, subjugated to, or controlled by any third party, he said, calling on both sides to deepen strategic communication, enhance understanding and mutual trust, and foster a correct perception of each other. Pascal Lamy, the former European commissioner for trade, told CGTN that despite differences, China and the EU share crucial common ground in defending multilateralism and cooperating on global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss and ocean protection. Among the outcomes of Thursday's summit, leaders of China and the EU issued a joint statement on climate change, highlighting their shared commitment to addressing climate change and pursuing green development. Xi underscored the importance of China and the EU as constructive forces for multilateralism, openness and cooperation, and called on both sides to provide more stability and certainty to the world. CONTACT: Email: cgtn@
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Qatar threatened to cut EU LNG supplies over sustainability law, letter shows
By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Qatar has threatened to cut gas supplies to the European Union in response to the bloc's due diligence law on forced labour and environmental damage, a letter from Qatar to the Belgian government, seen by Reuters, showed. Qatar is the world's third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), after the United States and Australia. It has provided between 12% and 14% of Europe's LNG since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In a letter to the Belgian government dated May 21, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said the country was reacting to the EU's corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD), which requires larger companies operating in the EU to find and fix human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains. "Put simply, if further changes are not made to CSDDD, the State of Qatar and QatarEnergy will have no choice but to seriously consider alternative markets outside of the EU for our LNG and other products, which offer a more stable and welcoming business environment," said the letter. A spokesperson for Belgium's representation to the EU declined to comment on the letter, which was first reported by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The European Commission also received a letter from Qatar, dated May 13, a Commission spokesperson told Reuters, noting that EU lawmakers and countries are currently negotiating changes to the CSDDDD. "It is now for them to negotiate and adopt the substantive simplification changes proposed by the Commission," the spokesperson said. Brussels proposed changes to the CSDDD earlier this year to reduce its requirements - including by delaying its launch by a year, to mid-2028, and limiting the checks companies will have to make down their supply chains. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 5% of global turnover. Qatar said the EU's changes had not gone far enough. In the letter, Kaabi said Qatar was particularly concerned about the CSDDD's requirement for companies have a climate change transition plan aligned with preventing global warming exceeding 1.5 celsius - the goal of the Paris Agreement. "Neither the State of Qatar nor QatarEnergy have any plans to achieve net zero in the near future," said the letter, which said the CSDDD undermined countries' right to set their own national contributions towards the Paris Agreement goals. In an annex to the letter, also seen by Reuters, Qatar proposed removing the section of CSDDD which includes the requirement for climate transition plans. Kaabi is also chief executive of QatarEnergy. Qatar Energy gas has long-term supply contracts with major European companies, including Shell, TotalEnergies and ENI.
Business Insider
24 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Why Meta Says It Will Stop Selling Political Ads in the EU
Social media giant Meta (META) announced that it will stop selling and showing political ads in the European Union starting in October. This decision is a response to the EU's new law called the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA). In a blog post, Meta said that the rules create too much complexity and legal uncertainty for advertisers and platforms. As a result, the company argued that the changes required to comply with the law would make its ad service far less useful for both advertisers and users. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. It is worth noting that the TTPA, which was passed by the European Commission in 2024, requires political ads to include clear labels and information about who paid for them, what election or referendum they relate to, how much they cost, and how they were targeted. The law also restricts the use of personal data in these ads. Indeed, advertisers must get explicit consent to use people's data for political purposes, and certain sensitive information, like someone's racial or political background, cannot be used at all. Therefore, after months of discussions with EU regulators, Meta decided that complying with the law would either mean redesigning its services in a way that would hurt advertisers or simply ending political ads in the region. Unsurprisingly, Google (GOOGL) has raised similar concerns and will also stop selling political ads in the EU by October. This is yet another clash between Big Tech and the EU, which has already introduced strict rules on AI, online advertising, and competition in an attempt to limit the power of major tech platforms. Is Meta a Buy, Sell, or Hold? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on META stock based on 41 Buys, four Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average META price target of $759.76 per share implies 5.5% upside potential.
